Toaster container



3 Sheets-Sheet l R. J- HENNESSEY TOASTER CONTAINER INVENTOR Russell J. Hennassey BY A ORNEY June 1, 1954 Filed Dec. 2, 1949 June 1954 R. J. HENNESSEY TOASTER CONTAINER v3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 2, 1949 Russell J. Henness BY 0133mm" INVENTOR' ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 R. J. HENNESSEY TOASTER CONTAINER June 1, 1954" Filed Dec. 2, 1949 INVENTOR ETTORNEY 7 Russell-J. Henness BY Q m 9m- Patented June 1, 1954 .TOASTER CONTAINER Russell J. .Hennessey, St. Paul,

M n, .as isn to Waldorf "Paper Products Company, 'St. Paul, Minn,,a corporation of Minnesota -Application December 2, 1949, S erial;l {o. 130,610

6 Claims.

.My invention relates to an improvement in toaster container wherein it is desired toprovide a simple and effective means ,of containing an electric toaster or similar device during transportation.

Electric toasters are ordinarily constructed with platedmetal, sides and top, and aresometimes made with ends of plastic orsimilar material. In shipment, care must be taken to preventthe plastic ends from strikinganother ob- Ject as ,these parts are relatively brittle. gcare must also be taken to prevent contact'between the side walls and top of the toaster and the walls of the container as relative movement between the walls and thecontainer wallstends to scratch the ly p lished surfa es.

An object ofthe present inventionlies in the provision ofa carton containing two pads which efiectively engage thetoaster and hold it from movement. '.These elements act to hold the walls of the toaster away from the container walls so as to prevent scratching thereof. The pads, also hold the plastic parts spaced from the walls of the container so as toprevent injury thereto.

These and other objects and novelfeatures of myinvention .will he more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of my specification:

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view through the outer containershowing the toaster and interior packingin said elevation.

Figure 2 -is an end elevation of the toaster and the interior packing structure removed from the carton.

'Figure 3 is a diagrammatic the "packing thereof.

Figure 4 is a perspective view-of the pad shown in Figure 3 in formedposition thereof.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic plan view -of--the other packing pad. 7

Figure 6 isa perspective-view of the pad shown in Figure 5 in partially-formed condition.

'Figure "I is a perspective view of'the pad-of Figures'5 and 6 in completely folded form.

The container A includes an outer-rectangular container lilof corrugated board, fiber;board,or similar material. This outer container is usually provided with a tuck'top'll and rectangularly arranged side walls 52. A bottom ltis composed of folded bottom flaps connected together any suitable manner. As the outer container :forms no part of the present invention,other than a plan view of one of pads showing the construction iii rectan u ar body fo -mi ta i ns th s uctu the details of the construction are not illustrated.

The toaster B is provided witha rounded upper surface Mhavingapair of spaced. slots 15 and ifitherein into which the bread to be vtoastedis inserted. The side walls i? are outwardly rounded soas to provide astreamlined appearance for the toasterand the body is curved. along its lower edge as indicated at IS. A pair of plastic leg. units 2t and?! are secured to the rounded undersurface of. the body and act as .a cradle for supporting the body. A pair ofspacedangularly extending legs 22 are provided ou each leg unit, these legs extending below the level of the remainder of the leg units to serve .as its support. The leg units are outwardly and upwardly curved and are provided with outwardly andupwardly curved ribs 23 and 243 which project beyond the remainder of the leg unit. A cross connecting memberZE connects the u per ends of the ribs 23 and 24 and acts as a handle bymeans of which the toaster may be carried. The ribs 23 and 2d project beyondthe end walls 2 6 of the leg units as is indicated in Figure 1 of the drawings.

The pad 21 illustrated in FigureB of the ;draw ings, is designed toform a protection for the leg unitsandto hold the toaster from longitudinal onlateralmoyement withinthe container. The pad 21 includes a bottom panel 29 which is foldably connected along parallel fold lines 30 and 3| to bottom reinforcing panels 32 and-33 respectively. These reinforcing panels 32 and 33 fold along the-fold lines 3t and 35 to overliethe panel 2.9 so as to form a bottom of double thickness.

Angular aperturest i are provided in the bottompanel 291:0 snugly fit the downwardly projectinglegs 22 of the toaster leg units. The bottom reinforcing panels 32 and-'33 are provided with registering aperturestfi which are aligned with theaperturestd in folded position of the reinforcingpanels. The leg units '22 .are of a heightequal approximately. to the thickness ,of thebottom panels 32 and 33 so that thelegs of the toaster iaresuspended above the bottom wall .1 3, :of; the, container. The; bottom surface of "the leg. vunits lbears directly upon the'pads Bland 33 and these pads serveas a solid bearing forthe toaster while the apertures 35 prevent longitudinal or lateralmovement .of the toaster on the bottom panel,

A generally ;-rectangular tongue 36 7 projects from one end of the end panel :2 Sand a similar ton ue. .13! projects from the other end thereof. These tongues are defined by U-shaped outlines 39.:and4ll. .The bottom panema islcon nected to the and panel M by a pair of aligned fold lines 42 on either side of the out line 39. The end panel 43 is connected to the opposite side of the base panel 29 along aligned fold lines 44 on opposite sides of the out line 40. With this construction the end panels 4| and 43 may be folded upwardly into right angular relation with the base panel as indicated in Figure 4 of the drawings, while leaving the tongues 35 and 3'! projecting longitudinally from the base panel.

Longitudinally extending tongues 45 are provided on the reinforcing panel 32 and similar longitudinally extending tongues 45 are provided on the reinforcing panel 33. In folded condition of the reinforcing panels, these tongues 45 and 45 lie in side by side relation and register with the projecting tongues 36 and 31 of the bottom panel 29. In folded condition the reinforcing panels abut as indicated in Figure 4.

The end panel 4| is connected along parallel fold lines 41 and 49 to flanges 50 and respectively. Similarly the end wall 43 is connected along parallel fold lines 52 and 53 to flaps 54 and 55 respectively. In folded condition of the pad 21, the flanges 53 and 51 fold outwardly into parallel relation as illustrated in Figure 4 to extend against the ends of the carton, thus holding the end panel 4| in definitely spaced relation thereto. Similarly in folded condition of the pad, the end wall 43 is held in spaced relation from the end wall of the outer container by the parallel flanges 54 and 55.

A generally U-shaped slot 55 is provided in the pad 4| and a similar U-shaped slot 5i is provided in the end panel 43. These U-shaped slots are designed to accommodate the upper ends of the spaced ribs 23 and 24 of the leg units and the connecting handle 25 thereof. Due to the inward curvature of the leg units, only the upper portion of the ribs project sufficiently far to extend through the end panels. The tongues 59 and 65 comprising the portion of material within the U- shaped slots 55 and 51 extend between the ribs 23 and 24 and beneath the handle 25 so as to prevent lateral or downward movement of the handle relative to the pad. This forms an additional means of engaging the toaster without contacting the metal sides or top thereof.

The end panels 4! and 43 of the pad 21 extend slightly above the level of the toaster when it is confined within the pad. These end panels act as a support for the second pad 6|, best illustrated in Figures 5 through i of the drawings. The pad 6| includes the bottom panel 62 which is connected along parallel fold lines 63 and 64 to side wall panels 65 and 58. The side wall panels are connected along their upper edge along fold lines 61 and 69 to top panels and H. The top panels m and H are connected along parallel fold lines '12 and 73 to vertical spacing panels M and 15. I hese vertical spacin panels include an upper portion of the same width as the previous panels described and a projecting portion which is relatively narrow. The projecting portion I6 projects centrally from the spacing panel '14, while the projecting portion 11 projects centrally from the spacing panel 15.

The projection is connected by a fold line 13 to a connecting portion 80, which in turn is connected by a parallel fold line 8| to the spaced portion 82. The portion 82 is partially of the same width as the projection 15, but is provided with longitudinally extending ears 83 on opposite ends thereof for a purpose which will be later described.

The projection 11 is connected along a fold line 84 to a connecting portion 85, which in turn is connected by a parallel fold line 86 to a spaced portion 81. The portion 81 is provided with longitudinally extending ears 89 at opposite ends thereof.

The bottom panel 62 is provided with a pair of elongated slots 90 and 9| therein, which are spaced similarly to the slots l5 and I6 of the toaster. These slots 90 and 9| are designed to accommodate the projecting portions 16 and H of the spacing panels, as will now be described.

The pad 6| is folded by folding the spacing panels 82 and 74 into generally parallel relation and also folding the spacin panels 15 and 81 into generally parallel relation. The pad is then folded along the various parallel fold lines and the connecting portion 80, together with the adjacent portions of the panels 14 and 82, are inserted through the slot 90. Similarly the connecting portion 85, together with the adjacent portions of the panels 15 and 81 are inserted through the slot 9|. This action produces the pad illustrated in Figure '7 of the drawings. It will be noted that the pad has two rectangular or tubular elements indicated in general by the numerals 92 and 93 extending over the bottom panel 52 and is also provided with rectangular downwardly projecting portions extending beneath the pad bottom 6!. These downwardly projecting portions extend into the toaster slots l5 and I6 and hold the toaster from longitudinal or lateral movement.

The pad 52 is held slightly spaced above the top M of the toaster by the end panels 4| and 43 of the pad 21. The toaster is held from upward movement by engagement of the handles 25 into the U-shaped slots 56 and 51. The pad 6| holds the pad 21 from vertical movement within the outer container A. This upper pad also extends into the toaster slots |5 and I6 to hold the top of the toaster from lateral or longitudinal movement. Thus the two pads hold the toaster securely within its outer container and without actually touching the highly polished outer surface of the toaster. It will be noted that the tongues 83 and 83 are of proper height to extend into contact with the top H of the container so as to prevent disengagement of the downwardly projecting portions of the pad 5|. It will be noted that the toaster is supported in spaced relation to all of the walls of the outer container and that all of the portions of the toaster contacted by the two pads will not be affected by relative slidable movement.

The packing structure has the advantage of simplicity of assembly. The pad 27 is placed upon a flat surface. The reinforced pads 32 and 33 are folded to overlie the bottom panel 29. The toaster is then placed upon the reinforced panels 32 and 33, the legs of the toaster extending into the slots 35. This holds the reinforcing pads in folded position and properly locates the toaster on the bottom panel. The end panels All and 43 are next folded vertically, the ribs and handle of the leg units extending through the U-shaped slots 56 and 51. The flanges 50, 5|, 54, and 55 are next folded into parallel relationship and the ntire unit lifted and dropped into the outer container. The pad 6| is next folded into the position shown in Figure '7 of the drawings and inserted into the container. The downwardly projecting portions of the pad enter the toaster slots I5 and H5. The top of the carton may next be closed and the package is complete.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my toaster container, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within thescope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A toaster package including a toaster having projecting handles at opposite ends thereof, and downwardly projecting feet thereon, the packing comprising an outer rectangular container having side and end walls, a bottom wall, and an interior pad including a bottom panel having apertures therein accommodating said legs, said bottom panel being substantially shorter than the bottom wall of the outer container and of substantially equal width thereto, a pair of end panels connected to opposite ends of said bottom panel along fold lines and extending upwardly therefrom, said end panels having apertures therein accommodating the projecting handles of the toaster, flanges on opposite edges of the end panels extending at right angles thereto and engageable against the end walls of the outer container to hold said end panels spaced therefrom, the apertures in the bottom panel holding the toaster from lateral movement in any direction and the apertures in the end panels holding the toaster from vertical movement relative thereto, means for holding the interior pad from vertical movement within the outer container, and integral projecting tongues on the ends of said bottom panel extendable beyond said end panels into alignment with the edges of said flanges.

2. The structure described in claim 1 and including a pair of flanges foldably connected to said bottom panel and ioldable over the same to form a double thickness bottom.

3. A toaster package for a toaster having a pair of elongated generally rectangular spaced openings in its upper surface, the package including an outer container having side and end walls, a bottom and a top, and an interior top pad within the outer container including a panel having sides engageable against the container side walls and ends engageable against the container end walls, flaps foldably connected to the panel sides, said panel having spaced elongated apertures therethrough, and U-shaped extensions on said flaps extending through said apertures and designed to extend into the openings in the toaster to hold the toaster from lateral movement within said outer container.

4. The structure defined in claim 3 and in which the flaps comprise two angularly related portions, one of which extends upwardly from the panel, and the other of which extends parallel to and spaced from the panel.

5. In a toaster package fora toaster having a pair of elongated generally rectangular spaced openings in its upper surface, an outer container having side and end walls, a bottom and top and an interior top pad structure within the outer container including a pair of spaced hollow tubular cushioning portions generally rectangular in cross-section and having upper and lower sides arranged in common planes beneath the top of the outer container, and a pair of channel shaped portions projecting downwardly from the inner edges of said hollow tubular portions, said channel shaped portions being of proper length and width to extend into the openings in the top of the toaster to hold the toaster from lateral move ment within said outer container.

6. In a toaster package for a toaster having a pair of generally rectangular spaced openings in its upper surface, an outer container having side and end walls, a bottom and top and an interior top pad structure within the outer container including a pair of spaced parallel side cushioning portions having portions thereof lying in a common plane parallel to the top of the outer container and between the same, and the top of the toaster, and a pair of spaced parallel channel shaped portions projecting downwardly from the inner spaced edges of said cushioning portions, said channel shaped portions substantially snugly fitting said openings in the top of the toaster to hold the toaster from lateral movement within the outer container.

References Cited in the file of thi patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,504,292 Wickes Aug. 12, 1924 1,783,570 Hill Dec. 2, 1930 1,865,268 Morris June 28, 1932 2,176,274 Parnin Oct. 17, 1939 2,479,453 Amatel Aug. 16, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country I Date 502,283 Great Britain Mar. 15, 1939 

